Should Cardinals Let The Grass Grow?

The St. Louis Cardinals are a ground-ball machine.  And no, I am not referring to the pitching staff.  I mean the hitters.  The Cards are currently leading the entire Major Leagues with 28 Grounded Into Double Plays (GIDP's), with a healthy lead in the NL (the Pittsburgh Pirates come up short yet again with only 20 GIDP's).

The Redbirds have an astounding 18 GIDP's at home in Busch Stadium in only 11 games.  Compare that to a (still) healthy ten in the team's ten road games.  Granted, in the first home-stand of the season many GIDP's were caused by a scuffling lineup rolling over on pitches and managing only weak grounders to the opposing middle infielders, while in the last five games at home it's been sharply hit balls that account for many of the double plays the team has endured.

Perhaps it's time to let the grass grow at Busch III.

That may seem like a joke, but maybe we should take a moment to consider it.  In the last five games at Busch, Colby Rasmus has three GIDP's.  Tyler Greene and Nick Punto have one each.  On the current home-stand, the entire team has a total of eight.  The three players listed represent a large portion of the team's speed.

If the infield grass was let to grow a tad higher, perhaps those grounders turn into productive outs - moving the runner up.  At worst, they may have only been force outs.  And this is important, as 11 of this season's home GIDP's  came with at least one runner on base with no outs with no runs scored in the inning - true rally killers.  Additionally, four GIDP's at home have been super rally killers, transforming two on, no out opportunities into wasted innings.  Missing that many wonderful chances to post runs has left the team vulnerable to the bullpen implosions suffered in 2011.

Of course this all supposition.  If the grass was longer, and the ground balls slower, the Redbirds could have even more  GIDP's (perish the thought).  Or well struck grounders for hits instead could become standard ground outs for Cardinal batsmen.  I know of no way to quantify this, not being a stat freak (gimme some help?)

But here's something to keep in mind.  Pitching coach Dave Duncan has pruned and preened his staff to be worm-murders - preaching the sinker and his pitch-to-contact philosophy.  With an infield defense focused on offense, would higher grass and slower ground balls mollify the middle infield's lack of range?  I know only one way to prove my theory - practice it.  Have the grass mown long.  There are proven eye-ball analysts sitting (or standing) in the Cardinals dugout every day their in Busch III.  It wouldn't take long for them to get a feel for the way it's working.  And if the experiment raises the hackles of TLR, Dunc, and the Ol' Redhead it's an easy fix to return to the way it was.

I'll admit, this all sounds like a joke.  But with the double-play hindering St. Louis' run differential, raising the issue for debate isn't really such a ridiculous a thought.

No More Apologizing for Franklin

This armchair manager has held firm to the idea that St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin needed to work out the kinks because they're aren't any better candidates to handle the mental toughness issues of the closing job. But after the ballclub endured the fourth blown save of the young season (in only five opportunities mind you) on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, even this Franklin apologist cannot support bringing him in such a high-leverage situation any time in the near future.  The time to regroup is now upon us.

A dumbfounded Ryan Franklin,

asea with only his beard

Franklin has been far more effective than pretty in his closing era with the Redbirds.  Relying on his location and savvy with a vast repertoire of pitches, what Franklin has lacked in strikeout ability has always been successfully substituted with the ability to coax weak groundouts from opposing hitters on a minimum of pitches.

Something isn't up to snuff with Franky's stuff this year.  Even when he makes what he thinks are great pitches this season, they are meeting the sweet spot of opponents bats.  Exhibit A: Matt Kemp hitting what Franklin described as a pitcher's pitch a long way into the LA afternoon sunshine.  There is a profound and abnormal lack of movement on Franklin's late inning offerings this season, and that gets him hit hard.  Really, really hard.  And balls hit in the air, too.  Really high up in the air.  Traveling long, long distances in the air.

Mentality So Important
Closing big league games take a special type of mentality.  A closer needs to be tougher between the ears than stronger in the arm.  Confidence is key to get batters to hit your pitch not theirs.  And a short memory is so very important, because all closers get beat in excruciating fashion from time to time.

Leaving such humblings behind to take the ball the next day and get the outs necessary for the win is not something every man can do.  It's something every closer faces at some point in his career.  Some lose their confidence and/or their stuff and lose the closers job.  It's happened before, and it will happen again as long as it is human beings taking the field with their gloves and hats.

Blasting the job he's done, and calling for Franklin's ouster from closer is one thing.  To pin-point a successor is another.  Trading for a reliable replacement is not a real-world answer in mid-April.  Let's take a look at the options available to manager Tony LaRussa and pitching coach Dave Duncan.

Miguel Batista - ugh
TLR will most likely fall-back to his usual position in such situations and look to a veteran with experience in the role.  Miguel Batista is the one that fits both those descriptions.  He did have 31 saves in 2005 for the Toronto Blue Jays.  Unfortunately, it took 39 chances to do it.  A quick glance at 41 career saves makes a case, but do the math and you come up with a save rate of 70.6%.  Miggy in the ninth will make Franklin's history in the role look like that of a Hall of Famer.

Jason Motte - meh
Motte has speed on his side.  Unfortunately the straightness of his heat defies the law of physics.  He is extremely capable of allowing the killer walk-offs that currently have Cardinal Nation in a tizzy that he really is unreliable.  Lest we forget, his spectacular failure in the ninth inning of opening day 2009 is the singular event that gave Franklin the closers role.

Eduardo Sanchez - hmmmm
Sanchez has exploded into the Major Leagues with 8 strikeouts in just three innings of work.  First blush, this makes you excited.  But in time, players will get a fix on his stuff and approach and make the subsequent adjustments.  Before I hand such a crucial responsibility on Sanchez, I want to see him get knocked around and come back with the adjustments a professional reliever constantly does.

Fernando Salas - maybe
Salas has been a closer throughout his minor league career.  The focal point of that sentence is "minor league".  This might be his future, but we are dealing with an immediate problem, and there is a more palatable replacement.

Mitchell Boggs - Yes!

Mitchell Boggs
(Source: Getty Images)

Boggs seems to have worked out the slow start caused by a bad back in spring training.  He has heat, and his filthy hard sinker is the envy of the Cardinals pitching staff.  He has some experience in big-league high-leverage situations (though not a saving a one-run lead in the ninth inning).  There is a list in GM John Mozeliak's mind (if not his desk) of pitchers the club planned on grooming this season to eventually replace Franklin as closer, and Boggs is very high on that list.

Boggs has not proven that he has the mental make-up to handle the role, but there is only one way to obtain that proof - throw him in the lake and see if he swims to shore.

If experience is key, Boggs has to get some sometime.  Perhaps as early as Tuesday.

Cardinals McClellan To Make First Start for Hometown Team

Kyle McClellan grew up in Florissant, Missouri as a fan of the Cardinals.  Tonight in St. Louis, a dream will come true for the Redbirds righthander as he will make his first big league start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Hazelwood West High grad has been a fixture in the Cardinals bullpen since 2008.

Pitching coach Dave Duncan has been high on McClellan's potential as a starting pitcher for some time now, noting his command of a variety of pitches that are effective against batters on both sides of the plate.  That versatility has served the Cardinals well out of the bullpen, but hasn't stopped the ball club from grooming McClellan as a starter the past three springs in Jupiter. In 2009, he was insurance in case Chris Carpenter was unable to answer the bell after Tommy john surgery.  Last spring, McClellan was very impressive in the battle to claim the fifth starter role, but lost out to Jaime Garcia, who was simply even more impressive. Coming into this season, the Cardinals clearly had McClellan pencilled into the role, but made him earn it.  And earn it he did by getting batters to beat the ball into the ground, showing necessary stamina, and posting a minuscule 0.78 ERA.

McClellan was St. Louis' best performing starter in Florida.  But that was spring training.  Tonight, the game is for real.  The true test for the hometown boy to make his dreams come true.  I am bullish on McClellan's capabilities as a starting pitcher in the big leagues.  He has passed muster in his previous trials and has earned the right to take the ball in the first inning under the lamps of Busch III.   I - and all of Cardinal Nation - will be rooting shamelessly for him to succeed in what is truly his home ballpark.

The Second Half Begins In Positive Way for Cardinals, Carpenter

As Chris Carpenter breezed through the Los Angeles Dodgers line-up on Thursday night, all of Cardinal Nation gave a deep sigh of relief as well as celebrating the 7-1 victory.

The St. Louis right-hander had not been sharp since getting hit on his pitching arm by a line-drive in late June, but the veteran was efficient and in command for eight innings, only surrendering four hits and an Andre Ethier solo home run.  Carpenter struck out six, and has apparently corrected the mechanical flaws that had plagued his starts earlier in July as he did not walk a Dodger.

Carpenter was able to locate his curve, something that he has been unable to do his last two starts.  He had allowed 11 earned runs and 18 hits with 4 walks in only 9 innings during the July funk leading to fears among Cardinal fans that the former Cy Young winner was injured.  But the team insisted he was fine, and pitching coach Dave Duncan said just before the All-Star break that Carpenter's issues were in his delivery, specifically the way he was landing on his left leg.

So one great fear of the second half is eliminated right away.  Carpenter was masterful - crisp and efficient, getting out of innings with very few pitches.  And that was important on a typical St. Louis July night rampant with heat and humidity.  Carpenter only threw 101 pitches in his eight innings, but wasn't asked to do more in the muggy conditions, giving way to Mitchell Boggs who finished the game with no drama.

Another positive development was the Cardinal offense.  Dodger lefty Clayton Kershaw has bedeviled the Redbirds in the past, but he wasn't sharp tonight and St. Louis took advantage.  Albert Pujols had three hits, Yadier Molina and Aaron Miles added two each to the team total of 12.  The offense was able to string hits together and put runs on the scoreboard in four different innings.

The Cardinals recalled Allen Craig from Memphis to replace OF Nick Stavinoha, who went on the DL with a shoulder sprain.  Craig had 2 RBI and hit the ball hard, but did not record a hit.  Craig has only one hit hit in his 21 Major League career at-bats.  He was replaced in the sixth inning by another rookie, Jon Jay, who extended his 12-game hit streak with a RBI double in the seventh.  Jay continues to be a spark to the line-up, and he is now hitting .386 on the season.

With Cincinnati having the day off, St. Louis is only one-half game out of first.  With Carpenter back to being himself and the offense looking like it should, Cardinal fans are feeling a bit better about the team and the second half of the season.


Photo by Dilip Vishwanat, Getty Images Sport